BYRON BLACK v. FRANK STRADA, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS COMMISSIONER OF THE TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION, ET AL. - Articles

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BYRON BLACK v. FRANK STRADA, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS COMMISSIONER OF THE TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION, ET AL.

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Jul 31, 2025

Court: TN Supreme Court

Attorneys 1: Attorney General, for the appellants, Frank Strada, Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Correction, and Kenneth Nelsen, Warden, Riverbend Maximum Security Institution.

Attorneys 2: Kelley Henry, Chief, Federal Public Defender Middle District of Tennessee Capital Habeas Unit; Amy Harwell, Assistant Chief, Federal Public Defender Middle District of Tennessee Capital Habeas Unit; Drew Brazer, Marshall Jensen, and Katherine Dix, Assistant Federal Public Defenders; and Eli Swiney, Research and Writing Specialist, for the appellee, Byron Black.

Judge(s): SKRMETTI

Byron Lewis Black, a death-row inmate scheduled for execution on August 5, 2025, challenges Tennessee’s lethal injection protocol. He asserts that the protocol, which uses a single dose of pentobarbital, is unconstitutional as applied to him because it does not account for his individualized medical condition that necessitated an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (“ICD”). Due to the impending execution, Mr. Black sought a temporary injunction in the trial court requiring the defendants to deactivate the ICD prior to the execution. He argues that the effects of pentobarbital will trigger the device and result in the infliction of extreme pain in violation of the Eighth Amendment. After a hearing, the trial court granted the temporary injunction, directing the defendants to arrange for qualified medical personnel to deactivate the ICD moments before administering the lethal injection. The court subsequently modified the injunction to permit the defendants to transport Mr. Black to a hospital to deactivate the ICD “as early as possible” on the morning of the execution. The defendants filed an application for extraordinary appeal in the Court of Appeals pursuant to Rule 10 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure asking the intermediate appellate court to vacate the temporary injunction. This Court assumed jurisdiction pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 16-3-201(d)(3) and ordered Mr. Black to file an answer. Upon review, we grant the application and conclude that the trial court erred in granting the injunction. Accordingly, we vacate the temporary injunction.

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